Meet the waffle maker of your syrup-filled dreams.

For most people, waffles are a special occasion food reserved for birthday mornings and celebratory brunches. But I've never been most people. I live large, especially when it comes to breakfast foods.

Since obtaining a proper waffle-iron at the ripe age of 20, every weekend that I'm home I make waffles (except for those rare, pitiful days that I make fried eggs instead). It’s an opportunity to chill out, reflect, and enable my unhealthy consumption of peanut butter and grade B maple syrup (I know). I’ve eaten a lot of waffles, and the shiny All-Clad Belgian Waffle Maker produces the prettiest ones that I ever did see.

Photo by Alex Lau

It makes what I like to call "company waffles": tall, structurally-sound pieces of art that deserve to seen by people you want to impress. Objectively, the well (where batter goes) is much deeper than other waffle irons I've used, yielding the exquisitely angular waffles that you might find at fancy hotel breakfast buffets, not in the comfort of your own home. And this iron doesn't just make one—it cooks four Belgian big boys in one go, which helps you spend less time making breakfast and more time eating it, which is the part I really care about.

Photo by Alex Lau

I'm told by online reviews that it uses some steam-releasing witchcraft (“advanced heating technology”) to simultaneously crisp the waffle's exterior and keep it moist inside. Now, I don't understand the science behind this, but I do know when my waffles are just the way I like them. And I can attest that these are both crispy and moist, even when I don't notice the 'done' light turn on and leave them sizzling there for a little too long. So, I consider this sophisticated heating feature a major plus.

I wish I could chalk this perfection up to a great recipe or my natural prowess in the kitchen, but it's not. It's just a damn fine waffle iron.